Over 100 Jewish studies scholars slam the University of Oregon over looming cuts they fear will “dismantle” Judaic and Holocaust studies, sparking a nationwide academic uproar.
A storm of protest has erupted at the University of Oregon, where dozens of Jewish studies scholars from top universities worldwide have accused the school of quietly endangering Jewish scholarship under the guise of budget cuts.
“Why don’t UO’s leaders want their students to learn about Jews? Why don’t they want their faculty to study Jews?” reads a blistering letter sent Aug. 24 to Oregon’s president, provost, and board of trustees. The letter, signed by chairs and directors from more than 100 institutions including Harvard University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, warns that Judaic and Holocaust studies are now at risk.
The university says it is preparing $30 million in sweeping humanities cuts, trimming up to 4% from departments. But faculty warn this could gut Judaic Studies entirely, since its professors are housed in vulnerable departments like religion, classics, and German and Scandinavian studies. “This is an indirect dismantling of Judaic Studies,” said one faculty member. “They’ll make it impossible to keep Judaic and Holocaust studies running.”
The alarm has rallied faculty unions, national Jewish groups, and Holocaust scholars who argue the program’s closure would devastate both Jewish and non-Jewish students. Deborah Green, a Hebrew literature professor and former program director, warned: “How can you be supportive of Jewish students if you stop teaching Judaic studies?”
University officials insist no final decision has been made and criticized “speculative reporting.” Yet major donors, including Jordan Schnitzer—whose family endowed Oregon’s Judaic Studies program—downplayed the fears, calling them “misinformation.” Faculty counter that because Judaic Studies is a program rather than a department, it remains structurally exposed.
The debate comes amid a broader crisis in higher education. Across the U.S., universities from Stanford to Iowa are axing or merging Jewish studies, Israel studies, and Holocaust studies programs as humanities funding dries up and antisemitism debates rage on campus. Faculty warn that without robust Jewish scholarship, future generations will be deprived of critical tools to combat bigotry and understand history.
“Universities have a heightened obligation to foster historical literacy in an era of rising racism, Islamophobia, and antisemitism,” the scholars’ letter insists. “What is needed today is not destruction but intentional strengthening of Judaic Studies.”
As Oregon prepares to finalize cuts by September 8, one thing is clear: the fate of Jewish studies there has ignited a national academic flashpoint with global resonance.
